author
Hong Ge
284–364
Remembered as a Daoist thinker, alchemist, and writer from the Eastern Jin period, this remarkable figure brought philosophy, medicine, and tales of immortals into the same body of work. His writings still stand out for the way they mix practical curiosity with a deep search for transcendence.
2 Audiobooks
About the author
Born in 284 and traditionally said to have died in 364, Ge Hong was a Chinese scholar of the Eastern Jin era. He is best known by the literary name associated with Baopuzi (often translated as The Master Who Embraces Simplicity), and he is also linked to the collection Shenxian zhuan (Traditions of Divine Transcendents).
Ge Hong is often remembered for the unusual range of his interests. He wrote about Daoist self-cultivation and immortality, but also engaged with ethics, government, and medicine, which helped give his work a lasting place in Chinese intellectual history.
For modern readers, what makes him especially interesting is the way his books bring together the mystical and the practical. He could discuss spiritual transformation and technical knowledge in the same breath, which is one reason he continues to be read as both a religious thinker and a wide-ranging man of letters.